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Just another AEC Blogs siteThu, 08 Dec 2016 13:00:00 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1It’s Time to Provide More Than Design Intent for Architectural Projectshttp://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/3dexperienceconstruction/2016/12/08/its-time-to-provide-more-than-design-intent-for-architectural-projects/
http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/3dexperienceconstruction/2016/12/08/its-time-to-provide-more-than-design-intent-for-architectural-projects/#commentsThu, 08 Dec 2016 13:00:00 +0000http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/3dexperienceconstruction/?p=3012No car manufacturer in business would create an engine bay by interpreting a representative 2D drawing—yet it is still acceptable for AEC professionals to work that way.

Today’s complex buildings should no longer rely on fragmented communication through 2D drawings or pdfs, said Robert Beson of AR-MA (Architectural Research – Material Applications Pty Ltd.), in a recent presentation at the 3DEXPERIENCE Forum Asia Pacific South 2016.

Beson suggested that architects today have a responsibility to provide more than just design intent. When relying on 2D drawings, too much is left up to interpretation.

“It’s necessary to fully engage with the methods of construction, of manufacturing, assembly, logistics and installation,” Beson says. “We need to understand and engage our supply chain from concept through design.”

Adapting to New Processes

Moving to a collaborative platform based on parts and assemblies makes sense, but requires new skillsets from designers.

Today, every project AR-MA designs is comprehensively modeled in 3D.

Every project uses 3D laser point cloud scanning to verify work as it’s built onsite.

The shift requires architects to interact in new ways with fabrication and construction professionals.

Take connection brackets, for example. By combining 3D scanning and a just-in-time fabrication pipeline, it’s no longer necessary to design complicated 3-way adjustable brackets. The team can design simple laser cut plates, each of which are slightly different and ultimately improve the tolerances onsite.

The need for 2D drawings can be fully removed by laser cutting or engraving directions for assembly into the materials themselves.

To provide these fabrication-ready solutions, every member of the team at AR-MA writes code.

Every AR-MA team member writes code in order to directly send information to fabrication machinery.

“It’s not enough just to model, and put together assemblies and parts, and think through the building process,” Beson says. “It’s crucial to engage with the means of production and be able to communicate with them. Often that means writing code and sending G-codes directly to the CNC machines.”

Comprehensive Modeling for Wynyard Walk’s Unique Components

For Wynyard Walk, a pedestrian walkway recently completed in Sydney, AR-MA was contracted to manage and execute detail design of the stainless cladding. The team had to deliver a fabrication-ready package of over 3,000 perforated stainless panels and lights, more than 50% of which were entirely unique.

Beson notes that it would not have been possible to work from 2D drawings of the mostly unique 3,000 perforated stainless steel panels at the Wynyard Walk pedestrian walkway.

The designers wanted a parametric model that was flexible enough to respond to ongoing design challenges.

The model had to accommodate an as-built primary structure, a glass reinforced concrete wall cladding, interfaces with the ceiling, and ongoing changes in the panel layout and perforations due to modifications in the façade mullions and setouts.

Its integration of design and engineering, part and assembly paradigm, and scalability, among other features, allowed the team to produce a highly detailed and accurate 3D model of the entire project scope.

The integration of design, engineering and fabrication information made the 3DEXPERIENCE a strong solution for this project.

Not only did the comprehensive model prevent problems before they arose, but it allowed designers to minimize the number of part drawings by providing fabrication-ready geometry that was sent directly to the fabricator.

This saved time in the office and factory, and removed any error from misinterpretation of the 2D drawings.

For example, the tremendous time crunch made it necessary to release all fabrication information in batches. Façade Design for Fabrication helped the team to coordinate and track those batch releases, as well as any revisions.

Technical Support of Creativity

Beson pointed out that architecture has long been considered a creative endeavor, but what unifies the team at AR-MA is a belief that architects must unite creativity with technical ability.

“Both are necessary to produce the types of innovative and formative buildings our cities require today,” he says.

Today’s AEC projects are more complex than ever, achieving heights, shapes and performance capabilities undreamed of a few years ago. Yet even as owners demand more from their buildings, many AEC professionals are still using processes that lead to redundant design, idle labor and significant rework.

There is now a solution available that harnesses the expert knowledge of the entire AEC team to create processes that are as efficient as the resulting project.

Design for Fabrication, based on Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE® platform, reduces supply chain fragmentation—and its resulting waste—by serving as a collaborative, fully-integrated, single source of truth for any construction project.

Most BIM tools are created with the design team in mind, but Design for Fabrication goes well beyond that.

Our platform allows designers to create models that are then used as the basis for shop drawings and fabrication processes. Details can easily be extended from the conceptual design phase through fabrication and on into the construction phase.

When designers and fabricators use a shared model—rather than simply sending data to the next contractor to convert to their own system—design details don’t slip through the cracks.

Any changes made to one element will show up immediately in the shared model, alerting all parties to any changes.

Thanks to these shared processes, contractors can feel confident that they will remain on schedule.

There’s more to the Design for Fabrication solution than collaboration. It offers an intelligent environment where users can easily define features to control even the most complex designs. Its ability to design anything, using the scalability of the cloud, means there are virtually no limits for your next project. In addition, users can access real-time update from anywhere, making it the perfect solution for drawing together office, shop and field processes.

A single user-friendly interface hosts the dynamic tools that allow designers to validate project requirements as they work, easily customize repeatable elements, and add data to a design model so that it can be used for shop drawings and creating a complete bill of materials.

What’s more, the tool hosts modules for designing a range of structures, including the following:

Civil Design: Users can model and simulate a variety of changes to terrain, earthworks, and more for large infrastructure projects ranging from roads to bridges to tunnels and beyond.

Building Design: Design and simulate any building or building element—from basic office furniture all the way to a one-of-a-kind stadium.

Façade Design: No matter the type of building envelope you’re planning, design and simulate it from the conceptual level down to details like fasteners. Easily examine metal panel, glazed, tensile and other façades in installed and unfolded states.

Structure Design: Bring all AEC partners together into a single system that can model, simulate and analyze any structural element, whether you’re working with concrete and steel frame, precast, façade, bridge, tunnel projects, or other systems.

Systems Design: No matter the scale, this solution lets users plan, model, and simulate any building system element. Reduce field clashes, whether working on a single occupant structure or a city infrastructure.

In nature, “chrysalis” refers to the metallic-gold shell that encases a butterfly’s metamorphosis.

Like its namesake, the Chrysalis Amphitheater in Merriweather Park, Maryland is making a bold transformation.

The futuristic band shell, designed by Marc Fornes of THEVERYMANY, features a dual-curved steel and aluminum shell over a concrete base.

From curved tubes to custom shingles, the project is a wide-ranging, geometric display made up of many unique panel-types.

Conceptual skin model from the architect MARC FORNES/THEVERYMANY

The manufacturer of this form is A. Zahner Company, an internationally acclaimed engineering and fabrication company based in Kansas City.

Earlier this year, we sat down to discuss the new Chrysalis Amphitheater with Shannon Cole, Senior Project Engineer at Zahner, who is responsible for transforming an artist’s design into a realized form.

“We’ve been using CATIA for modeling in some form or another for over a decade. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform brings CATIA to the next level,” says Cole. “What we love about the 3DEXPERIENCE platform is the way that it adds other functionality available to us through ENOVIA Project Management, to improve our ability to collaborate all the way through the supply chain.”

The company, along with the entire Chrysalis project team, has brought the amphitheater project to life in a virtual world.

Using collaborative modeling tools they were able to make decisions and have a big impact on schedule and budget.

To manage the complex geometries and ensure everything fits together in the field, the shell has been developed from the ground up in a 3D environment.

The Chrysalis will be the first major project for Zahner engineers to run on Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Having used the company’s CATIA software for many years, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform brings multiple software packages together on a cloud-based system, increasing visibility for stakeholders, and empowering collaboration between teams.

Close up view of secondary fins used for geometry definition.

According to Cole, digital projects once constrained fabricators, since those tools were imagined with the architect in mind.

Structural steel model and secondary fins.

Coordinating Throughout

Cole notes that the Chrysalis project presents a challenge in that, even though Zahner is contracted by the owner, the subcontractor must coordinate closely with the project’s general contractor who is performing the site work and laying the concrete pad.

“Coordination between us will be critical,” Cole says. “It’s important to show them how we envision this being erected.”

For example, through a tab in the 3DEXPERIENCE dashboard, Zahner has been able to easily coordinate concrete embed locations with the general contractor.

“This way we get high level of agreement from the general contractor that, yes, that’s the concrete slab they’re going to build, and we can ask for base plates to be in those locations,” Cole says.

Improving Collaboration

“We’re giving access to the owner and architect to let them know where we are and how things are moving forward because design is a tricky process — it’s not always linear and straightforward. Decisions that seem relatively small can have big impact so transparency helps people see why you’re agonizing over, for example, a single clip and why it’s important to you,” Cole says.

Dashboard created for project stakeholders; Images show a skin test in process.

For example, as the façade team explores how the shingled skin appearance will be achieved and how it might look in its finished state, Zahner is able to post photos on the dashboard to demonstrate what they’re aiming to achieve.

That helps bring new team members up to speed, and makes the owner a more integrated part of the team.

Transforming the Process

Between the Chrysalis’ limited reliance on 2D drawings and its high level of transparency, the project demonstrates the transformation taking place in the AEC industry.

“The interconnectivity across disciplines — upstream and down, from design through fabrication, installation and analysis — is huge for our industry,” Cole says.

This collaborative virtual design not only helps to engage all AEC team members, giving them all a high stake in the finished project, but it takes full advantage of all of the knowledge available from the full team throughout the life of the project.

Prefabrication is the designing and manufacturing of assemblies under factory conditions, then transporting them to—and assembling them on—a construction site. The technique is most widely used for concrete and steel sections in structures where a particular part or form is repeated many times.

In civil engineering, prefabrication plays a key role in the construction of bridges, roads, tunnels, and more. Prefabrication can be used for:

tunnel linings, especially for tunnels formed by tunnel boring machine

sea walls

railway platforms

noise barrier panels

overhanging ducts and service channels for underground facilities

storm water discharge culverts

and many other elements of a civil design project

Contributing Factors to the Prefabrication Trend in Civil Engineering

The main reasons for prefabrication construction is to reduce the overall time period of construction time on a project. This time savings can yield significant budget savings.

Prefabrication allows for work to be conducted simultaneously onsite and offsite, as well as helping with better coordination among the project team.

Less onsite staging, such as scaffolding, is needed. Weather does not impact construction. Prefabrication can also reduce onsite resources, such as labor and equipment, and minimize waste. Factory conditions offer quality control checks on each piece produced.

Prefabricated concrete, for example, can avoid the imperfections frequently found in concrete poured onsite. The lack of exposure to the elements, and the ability to fabricate in factory conditions rather than on ladders or from scaffolding also improves quality.

Examples of Civil Design Projects Using Prefabrication

The new replacement Goethals Bridge, linking Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Staten Island in New York City, is currently under construction and has a cable-stayed design. The replacement bridge will be located directly south of the 88-year-old existing Goethals Bridge.

The design of the $1.5 billion project was led by Kiewit-Weeks-Massman. Prefabricated steel will compose two spans, one eastbound and one westbound, to measure 1,635 feet. The project team is constructing 36 precast concrete structural support columns for the foundation—18 each for the eastbound and westbound roadways—consisting of prefabricated steel rebar shafts.

Prefabricated anchor boxes will be installed at the top section of the bridge’s eight towers. The new bridge is scheduled to open in 2017 on time.

The Crossrail railway project in London is Europe’s biggest underground construction project.

Twenty-six miles of twin-bore tunnels have been built for the addition of 10 stations and linking to 30 existing stations. Eight tunneling machines bored the 6.2 diameter rail tunnels, 40 meters under London.

Over 200,000 prefabricated concrete segments line the tunnels. Seven segments and a keystone will be used to make up tunnel rings, locked together to build a concrete tube reinforced with steel fibers. Each segment weighs 3,000 kilograms and each keystone weighs 1,000 kilograms. Crossrail construction is being delivered on time and within budget.

The Panama Canal expansion project adds a new lane to the existing two lanes to allow for passage of large vessels, such as container ships, bulk carriers, and tankers. Work began in 2014 and is expected to be complete in May 2016 at a cost of over $5 billion. The new lane will have two locks chambers, one on the Pacific side and one on the Atlantic side.

Installation of 16 prefabricated rolling steel lock gates was completed last year. They were manufactured in Italy, then shipped, tugged, and “rolled” to the site.

When complete, ships will enter through two-pair of buoyant gates, which are 7-feet-thick, weigh up to 3,200 tons, and are up to 82-feet high. In addition, 46 prefabricated steel lock walls were put into place to hold water in the lock chambers that range from 45- to 55-feet thick at the base to 8 feet at the top.

The West Kowloon Terminus Station North is the largest civil contract awarded for the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

Located in Kowloon, the terminus will serve as Hong Kong’s international gateway to China. Engineering firm BuroHappold designed a curved, steel, and glass roof to accommodate a large central space to provide natural light and views of Hong Kong Island. The free-form roof will be made up 7,000 tons of prefabricated steel trusses weighing up to 40 tons each.

Doubly-curved trusses, triangular in cross-section, will form three long curved lattice trusses. These will be supported by prefabricated curved steel columns up to 50 meters in height. A concrete roof beam for the steel roof will be comprised of six concrete cantilevering beams, with eight concrete sections spanning between each beam.

Zahner is an internationally acclaimed engineering and fabrication company best known for its highly crafted architectural metalwork.

One of Zahner’s recent projects, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), demonstrates how supply chain integration can help move complex buildings quickly to completion.

KPF principal Trent Tesch brought Zahner onto the project during its early stages to prove to the owner that the proposed façade — a complex swirling structure of stainless steel ribbons—would indeed be possible to fabricate.

The fabrication team began and lived in a 3D world from the beginning.

“We took the architect’s surface information and built out all of the parts based on their original 3D model,” says Mr. Shannon Cole, Zahner Senior Project Engineer.

The project called for the design of 26-foot long unitized pieces that spanned from one anchorage point to another.

Overall view of Fairfax façade of the Petersen Automotive Museum.

“For the structural design, we laid out a wire frame and provided this to our structural engineer for analysis,” Cole explains. “This wire frame was then used to fabricate not only our scope, but the structural steel as well. Because [the architects] did their detailing in separate software, the next step towards actually building this was to bring it into our CATIA model as a cross-check to verify that they were providing the required geometry.”

Cross-checking geometry enabled Zahner engineers to accurately verify that each of the more than 300 unique ribbons were correct.

The team relied on CATIA to create knowledge patterns that could be adapted for each element. The CATIA software also enabled Zahner engineers to export and manufacture the parts.

As Cole explains, “From CATIA we had basic scripts that would export all the files to our shop in .dxf format. That’s what gets cut on our factory floor.”

One 26’ long prefabricated ZEPPS™ panel showing internal structure.

While the process of designing each ribbon was fairly complex and required some design expertise, the fabrication and installation process was much simpler.

“Essentially, we’re building it twice,” explains Cole. “We build it once using CATIA, and then we build it again on our shop floor. So it’s important to get everything right when we build the design in the model, so that the fabrication and installation processes flow smoothly.”

This process of “building it twice” is executed in a managed structured engineering practice, similar to what you might find in the the construction field.

“We had a limited number of senior engineers who worked on this at the conceptual phase, and when production began we were able to bring in additional junior engineers who could smoothly transition into producing the additional system design work.

The model allowed them to quickly release a lot of parts to production based on the rules and knowledge patterns that were used,” Cole says.

The model kept installation simple as well.

“One of the most fantastic things about this is that there were a hundred parts unique to each and every one of these panels, but the way everything fit together for these elements, the parts checked each other,” Cole says.

Detailed view of panel to steel anchor.

The installation team used jigs to ensure the location of critical points on the product.

From there, the finish skins simply had to have their corners come together correctly to demonstrate accuracy.

Left: Model view of survey information for steel (Red box is the steel as surveyed in the field; Blue is ideal panel.) Right: Installation photo of anchor.

“Everything went up in the field fantastically well,” Cole says.

He attributes the accuracy to reliance on and trust in a 3D model.

“Even when there were problems, the model allowed us to identify them early, we knew exactly what we were getting into at every step.”

]]>http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/3dexperienceconstruction/2016/03/17/petersen-automotive-museum-how-design-assist-models-are-transforming-facades/feed/03D Technology + Construction: A High-Value Partnershiphttp://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/3dexperienceconstruction/2016/01/28/3d-technology-construction-a-high-value-partnership/
http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/3dexperienceconstruction/2016/01/28/3d-technology-construction-a-high-value-partnership/#commentsThu, 28 Jan 2016 13:00:22 +0000http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/3dexperienceconstruction/?p=2645World-leading, innovative technology is being used successfully to make the aerospace and other manufacturing industries more responsive to demand, dynamic in development and increasingly efficient in delivery. I would argue that the construction industry is crying out for this innovation to drive efficiency, generate sustainability, improve safety and reduce waste.

The techniques of Building Information Modeling (BIM), being applied in some areas of the industry, take us part-way but the full value has yet to be realized.

The technology used by the aerospace industry embraces the full spectrum: from initial design, detailed 3D digital mock-ups, to testing and proving in the virtual digital world. The 3D model is reviewed, revised, redesigned and tested to destruction without injury or damage.

The same platform of collaborative data then tracks materials requirements and the manufacturing process, following the aircraft from assembly to sale and delivery. It integrates data across the lifecycle of the program, to generate efficiency, reduce cost, cut waste, increase sustainability, improve safety and create value.

Like an aircraft, a building is a system – superstructure, foundations, air conditioning, useable spaces, arteries providing power, water, waste processing – a system for people.

The building becomes more than concrete, steel, glass, bricks and mortar – it becomes a space for living, working or leisure, an intelligent space connected to other intelligent spaces – an intelligent system – an intelligent community.

This building, this intelligent space, lends itself to digital design, 3D digital mock-up, review and revision in the virtual world and the ongoing provision of through-life management.

It is a complex logistical system which is simplified, made efficient, given value and given life through data integration and collaboration.

Frank Gehry gave life to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao by approaching Dassault Systèmes to use its leading-edge technology from the aircraft industry to imagine and create the impossibly fluid lines of his building.

In the architect’s own words, this was transformational, and signaled a cultural change in modern architecture.

The building was completed on-time and well within budget, achieving financial savings of 18% in the process. That act would prove to be a game changer.

The imaginative use of this technology has the potential to make buildings not only iconic and sympathetic with their place in the landscape, but to be intelligent, energy-efficient and sustainable. The manipulation of data enables the integration of retained, legacy buildings, harmonized sensitively with the new development to create places which are special; balancing the old with the new, seamlessly merging the ideas of yesterday with those of tomorrow.

This information provides the arteries which allow the dynamism of the construction provider to flow and the imagination of the client to be realized. It harnesses the desired outcomes of the client, the strength and capabilities of the construction industry, and the power of leading-edge technology, significantly improving the quality of sustainable construction and creating assets which are fit-for-purpose, environmentally sensitive and of lasting value.

The Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform version R2015x was selected as the BIM platform for the entire process. SMEDI realized the following benefits by adopting the 3DEXPERIENCE platform:

Data Security

The platform adopts the Cloud platform and the structure model of the central server to unify the database of the project. This provides reliable data security protection for the project.

Ease of Simulation

The platform supports the type expansion of the BIM model and adopts the approach of self-defined uniform type in the Yanggao South Road Project. The side-stones, parapet, and asphalt in the tunnel structure are laid out in a unified manner. This gave great convenience to the latter-stage quantitative surveying and simulated implementation.

Cross-Model Clash Detection

With the multi-disciplinary, real-time-coordinated BIM platform, the design professionals in the structure, bridge and pipeline fields can carry out real-time design work on the same platform. This synchronized modeling function can instantly identify any errors in the design process and quickly check for any mutual interference between different models.

Workflow for Large-Scale Modeling

The BIM modeling workflow approach on the 3DS platform has been initially formed. The current software format can support a large-scale data model for a 100km roadway. The entire BIM area covers the initial solution design, the intermediate detailed structure design, the latter-stage implementation simulation, and project reporting.

Efficiency of Templates

The innovative re-use function of the knowledge template library can, with the template function provided by CATIA®, rapidly exemplify the different components in the tunnel structure, thereby avoiding duplication in modeling and enhancing working efficiency.

In the demonstration and proofing stage of the project solutions, the BIM technology was introduced to visualize the 3D design, to compare the various solutions, and to optimize them. Satisfactory results were achieved in the briefing sessions for government leaders and the project owners.

In the design stage, both BIM and regular design methods were employed, and the design results were checked to help ensure that the quality of the design drawings was secured.

In the tendering stage for the construction, the joint design team made a significant breakthrough in estimating quantities of building materials based on BIM, and successfully acquired from the BIM information the quantities of concrete and steel for the main structure, and those used to protect the structure. 65% of the estimate was checked against the traditional calculations, and was used in the checklist for the formal tendering of the project.

This whitepaper provides a broad overview of the latest innovations and breakthroughs in civil design and construction, as well as the challenges faced and the solutions devised to achieve higher quality and improved efficiency.

Written jointly by Dassault Systèmes and the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (SMEDI).

SMEDI is particularly strong in designing bridges, having designed almost all the major bridges in Shanghai. Of course, SMEDI’s work goes way beyond the city of Shanghai. One notable example is the Ganjiang Second Bridge in Jiangxi Province, which has a “fish-like” design that fits very well within the surrounding landscape.

The complex structure of the bridge comprises of a steel upper part, a concrete lower structure and in the middle, a mixed concrete and steel section.

BIM enabled a clear division of work for the different engineers and their respective components: ￼

￼The design work for the bridge was led by SMEDI, with engineers from different disciplines collaborating.

The project manager was a senior civil design engineer.

A dedicated engineer designed the skeleton, determining the framework of the entire bridge.

A specialist engineer focused on the steel structure.

A designer concentrated on creating a library of components for the various distinct features in the bridge.

SMEDI’s collaborative design process meant that they clearly defined and divided the work involved, coordinated the roles and tasks and seamlessly managed the entire project.

In the conceptual design stage, the software allows designers to quickly create complex curves as skeleton lines and even supports using digital sketch tablets.

With the skeleton lines created, the component library is crucial to the success of the project. The components (like piers, beams, columns, etc.) are intelligent, rule-based parametric objects and well-categorized in the library.

The designers can select desired components from the library and put them on the skeleton lines. Then, the components adjust their sizes automatically to fit the skeleton lines and generate the BIM model in a well-coordinated manner.

If designers change skeleton lines, it drives all components to update along with it, thus greatly saving modification time.

The SMEDI solutions can be animated to better showcase the proposed design concept, making them more functional than the static 3D visualization drawings which were produced previously.

During the construction drawing stage, the software can check for conflicting production directions, as well as design errors.

Users input measurements into the software to conduct analysis and optimize the build. These additional safety checks are of paramount importance for bridge design and construction. ￼

Indeed this software helped make it much easier for SMEDI to make changes to the design, which can be very frequent and even at the last minute.

In the past, making design changes could sometimes take even longer than the original design stage itself.

This whitepaper provides a broad overview of the latest innovations and breakthroughs in civil design and construction, as well as the challenges faced and the solutions devised to achieve higher quality and improved efficiency.

Written jointly by Dassault Systèmes and the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (SMEDI).

The Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (SMEDI), one of China’s top municipal engineering companies, has completed 12,000 projects including water treatment plants, as well as road, bridge, rail, urban landscape, fuel gas and geotechnical engineering projects.

Compass spoke with Lv Wei Zhang, association chief engineer in SMEDI’s IT Center, and Junwei Wu, deputy director of SMEDI’s BIM Center, about their work to develop IT solutions for civil engineering’s unique challenges.

COMPASS: What challenges are SMEDI facing in executing its work?

LV WEI ZHANG: In China, it is common for major infrastructure projects to be carried out with design and construction happening in parallel. Typically, only 50% of the project is designed when construction begins. During construction, owners are able to plan the rest of the project with greater precision. So they modify their design as the project evolves. This is one of the ways to adjust projects.

This process is close to owners but very difficult for the designers. To succeed, we must be able to clearly visualize the outcome of our design to ensure both quality and efficiency. With an advanced Building Information Modeling (BIM) platform, we can improve communication between owners, make design changes with great flexibility, manage project status with precision and efficiency and recover from project delays effectively.

Before employing the advanced BIM platform, what difficulties did you encounter in your work?

LWZ: In the past, our contractors used the in-situ casting method quite extensively, with a lot of casting work happening at the site. This had numerous drawbacks. First, it was difficult to control material waste. Second, it was hard to manage cost. Third, managing time and schedule was a big challenge. Last, casting on-site occupied much more space than prefabrication would require, so other contractors were often blocked from their work sites for prolonged periods.

How did you solve this challenge?

LWZ: First of all, we fully integrated our work into an engineering procurement construction (EPC) system that provides an overview of engineering, procurement and construction and how they relate to one another. We did off-site prefabrication as much as possible, and we launched a BIM system, which significantly enhances overall efficiency.

What are the benefits of BIM?

LWZ: On the one hand, BIM enables us to achieve collaborative 3D design. The designs, from the macro system to the micro parts, are displayed as 3D visuals, giving clarity and precision in the process of communication with all stakeholders. BIM also facilitates data communication in an industry standardized format, so that everyone sees the same information clearly.

Could you briefly describe your application of BIM?

JUNWEI WU: Starting in 2005, the civil engineering industry in China has been shifting from CAD to BIM, and we started using BIM in our design work at that time. Before that, we had to endure the shortcomings of 2D design. The modifications were not linked together. In other words, changing one drawing did not automatically trigger changes in the other drawings. With BIM, a change to one area alerts the designer to any related areas that need to change as well.

BIM was first used in our water treatment plants, but ordinary BIM does not always have adequate capability to handle roads and bridges. We worked with our supplier to develop a BIM specifically for civil engineering that is perfect for visualizing roads, bridges and tunnels. It can demonstrate our design concepts and offers precision in our presentation, even for minor features.

Could you give some examples?

JW: SMEDI is particularly strong in designing bridges. For instance, the Ganjiang River Second Bridge, in Jiangxi Province, has a “fish-like” design that merges very well with the landscape. The structure is complicated, with the steel above, concrete below, and a mixture of both in the middle. We used our specialized civil engineering BIM, enabling well-planned division of work, with different engineers deployed collaboratively for components, the skeleton and the steel structure.

With our civil engineering BIM, it has become much easier for us to accommodate changes in design, which can be frequent. In the past, making changes to the design often took even longer than the designing itself.

Now, the pain of endless modifications is significantly reduced.

Another notable example is the Yanggao South Road Tunnel project in Shanghai, a project involving many tunnels and bridges. Our BIM made design much more precise and easier to visualize.

What is your overall evaluation of the civil engineering BIM solution that your partner developed, based on your input?

JW: We have immensely benefited from this platform. Our partner has long been number one in the field of manufacturing, and we foresee that “manufacturing today is the civil works of tomorrow.”

Phoenix International Media Center

Phoenix International Media Center, located at the southwest corner of Beijing Chaoyang Park, with gross floor area of 65,000 square meters and building height of 55 meters, was designed by Beijing Institute of Architectural Design.

The overall design logic is to wrap the main, independently-maintainable space with an ecologically-functional shell, rendering a building-in-building form. There is some interesting shared and public space in between, so as to meet the purpose of public involvement and experience and environmental protection.

In addition to media office and studio production facilities, there is also lots of interactive experience space open to the public, so as to reflect the unique open business concept of Phoenix Media.

To show the uniqueness, culture, and rationality of technology and cost, the architects creatively proposed for the outer surface of the center a flake-type, unit-combined façade fabrication of which either two of the 5,180 units are different from each other.

Phoenix International Media Center

Barclays Center

Barclays Center, covering an area of 675,000 feet, designed by SHoP Architectures, reflects the balance between unique shape and good performance.

Its complex, weather-resistant steel and glass façade design, a main part of arena design, was fulfilled by SHoP Construction (SC) cooperating with a façade contractor.

To ensure the “grille” division of the weather-resistant steel can accurately show the building shape, SC introduced an integrated construction process directly oriented to assembly and applied digital fabrication technology to assemble and deliver 900 large unit panels by sequence, which consisted of 12,000 weather-resistant steel grilles of different sizes.